


Living Five Lives

by The_Procrastinator



Category: United States of Tara
Genre: Dissociative Identity Disorder, Domestic, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Kinda, Multi, Polyamory Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26050969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Procrastinator/pseuds/The_Procrastinator
Summary: What would have happened if Max hadn't been a total piece of shit to Buck.
Relationships: Max Gregson/Tara Gregson, Tara Gregson | Buck/Pammy
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Living Five Lives

**Author's Note:**

> Yes this is fic for a decade old fandom that hasn't been writted for in four years. I know. But writing this was pretty much a compulsion. This show is good enough, but how Buck's thing with Pammy was handled was pretty upsetting.

“Tara, look-” 

“No, Buck, no! We’re not doing this!” There was so much wrong with this whole situation. After all he had done, sleeping with someone, nearly destroying her marriage, how dare he ask her for anything?

“Just lemme talk to him. Lemme try.” Even though Buck had his cap pulled down over his face, Tara could tell he’d been crying. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Tara took a deep breath. At least he was asking now, though it was a bit fucking late. She had to be reasonable here. 

“Ugh, fine. You can ask. I mean, he’s gonna say no, but you can ask. But I swear to god Buck, if you go off to see her I’ll-”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll have a little bitch-fit, I got that. Now scram.” And with that, Tara felt herself sliding out of the driver’s seat, so to speak. She stayed close by, watching, as Buck got up, grabbing a hair tie from the dresser as he went. Even barefoot, he managed to stomp down the stairs loudly enough that, before he’d even reached the bottom, Max called out to him. 

“Buck, is that you?”

Buck didn’t bother to speak as he continued down the stairs, dropping into a dining chair, seeming outwardly to be completely unbothered by the man standing in front of the fridge.

“Look, man, we need to talk. About Pammy.” Max’s reaction was instantaneous. His whole body tensed up, his jaw sitting hard. Underneath the table, Buck clenched a fist, preparing for a fight. 

“What, you want to apologise?” There was acid in his voice, but Buck, hypervigilant as ever, had expected this. 

“Actually, I want permission.” There was a look of shock on Max’s face, but Buck had started, and he wasn’t stopping til he’d said his part. “I love Pammy. I know you might find that hard to believe, but I do. Just the same as Tara loves you. She means the world to me. Let me have this, I’m beggin’ you.” 

In the time Buck was speaking, Max had sat down. His face had gone blank and impassive. “What makes you think I’m okay with you taking that much of my time with my wife?”

Tara smiled slightly, glad that her husband cared about her, but Buck only sighed. “I’ve thought about it. She has some money saved, been wantin’ to move for the kids for a while. I was thinkin’ maybe she could buy that house you been fixin’. That way I’d never be too far away when Tara comes back.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you? You actually think I might let you do this?” There was no mistaking the incredulity in Max’s voice, and Tara gave a sympathetic wince. 

“Yeah, I’m hopin’ so. I’ve asked the others, y’know. They’re good with it. Still don’t know if Pammy would do it but… I’m hopin’. Alice would be happy to have more kids around, T thinks she’s pretty cool for an adult, and Tara… well, she’s been readin’ this book and she’s thinkin’ she has to listen to us more. This could be good for us.” At some point, Alice had appeared and was rocking back and forth on her heels anxiously. 

This time it was Max’s turn to sigh. “Sounds like you’ve got this all thought out. But… what about me and Tara?”

“We talked ‘bout that too. Nothin’ much would change there. You would still get to be with her, just the same. We just… might be around a little more. Jus’ sayin’ though, if we got to have lives of our own, maybe we’d mess up Tara’s less.”

Max slumped forwards, head in hands. “I’ll need to think on it, but maybe… if you all think it’ll work… we’ll see.”

“I know I don’t say this a lot but, thanks, man. Maybe you’re not so bad after all.” And then the world slid sideways and Tara was back in the body. 

“Hey, Max.” Her smile goes unnoticed as her husband refuses to lift his head from the table. “How are you doing?”

“I don’t know, Tara, this is all a lot. I love you, but I’ll have to think about all this.” Tara reaches across the table, dropping a hand onto her husband.

“I know, honey. Let’s do something else, huh? Kids aren’t home.” At this, Max lifts up, a slow smile blooming on his face. 

“Sounds good, darling.”

\-----

3 months later, Tara awoke under an unfamiliar ceiling, a rather more feminine body than normal next to her. She stretched, and reached across to check her phone on the nightstand. Saturday, 8am. That means she’s due back home soon. She tapped Pammy, who rolled over to look at her, still half asleep. 

“You’re not my Buck, are ya?” She doesn’t sound bothered, and something about that fills Tara with a warmth. That sort of idle acceptance is nice, but she’s so unused to it. 

“No, I’m not. Tara.” 

“Yeah, I figured. Go on, darlin, head back to your husband. And tell Buck I love him.”

Tara smiled, rolling out of bed, reaching into the nightstand drawer and grabbing something of her own. It had been Katie’s idea to leave some of her stuff over there for when she finds herself in Pammy’s bed in the morning, and it makes things a lot easier. She’d really rather not go home in Buck’s clothes. And he’d rather she didn’t too. 

It took her less than a minute to get from Pammy’s house to her own. 

Her family was around the table when she returned, Max and Kate seated and Marshall cooking. She kissed her husband, with a smile, hugged both her children, and clicked on the coffee machine. As the cup started to drip through, Buck, Alice, T and Shoshana came into her awareness. For all it was unsettling to have all of them around at once, she was getting used to this. Shoshana had insisted on weekly household meetings with all of the system around, and honestly, it was working pretty well. Things weren’t going unsaid anymore. 

She could really get used to this.


End file.
